Claude MCP connector is not ZDR-eligible: check before sending briefs

If your Anthropic organization is under zero data retention, you cannot use the MCP connector: the page's feature metadata lists zdr: not-eligible for the beta header mcp-client-2025-11-20. That decides the question before any design work, whether the downstream server is Sume or something else.

What the page says

The feature status is beta, available on the Claude API, Claude Platform on AWS and Microsoft Foundry per the metadata.

What to do instead

Call the model with ordinary tool definitions and run the Sume calls from your own code, using the Sume REST API or the SDK. Your server then decides what leaves your network, and you keep the idempotency key on your side.

This post does not claim what the connector retains. It only reports the eligibility Anthropic states, and you should ask your Anthropic contact if your terms are unclear.

A short decision list

Ask three questions in order. Does your agreement with Anthropic require zero data retention for this workload? If yes, do not use the connector. Does the brief contain anything you could not send to a beta feature? If yes, redact it or do not use the connector. Do you need the connector at all? If the model only has to choose a tool and your code makes the call, ordinary tool use avoids the question.

The same logic applies to the Sume calls themselves: your own code that calls Sume runs under your own controls, including the key, the retry rules and the logs.

• ZDR required: skip the connector.
• Sensitive brief: redact or skip.
• Only tool choice needed: use tool use and your own HTTP calls.